Men's Volleyball | 1/11/2026 9:04:00 PM
Box Score MALIBU, CA. – The Daemen University men's volleyball team continued its season-opening West Coast road trip on Sunday, facing off against fourth-ranked Pepperdine University. The Waves (2-0) earned a 3-0 victory, winning by set scores of 25-17, 25-17, 25-14 inside Firestone Fieldhouse.
The match was the second straight contest for Daemen (0-2) against an AVCA Top 10 program to open the 2026 campaign as the Wildcats gear up a defense of the 2024 and 2025 NEC Titles.
IMPACT PLAYERS
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Redshirt-sophomore right side Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) led the Wildcats in kills for the second straight match, recording nine kills and a .190 hitting percentage.
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Mullen also had one of the team's two service aces in the match as well as two blocks to tie for the team lead with fifth-year middle Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.) and redshirt-senior outside hitter Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.).
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Junior setter Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) had 19 assists and six digs in the loss, while senior defensive specialist Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.)had six digs of his own.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Daemen and Pepperdine played it close early on in the first set, trading blows for the first 12 points of the frame until a 6-0 run for the Waves opened up a 12-6 lead they never relinquished.
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Game two saw the Wildcats race out to a 10-6 lead following an ace by Wieberg. The two sides continued a back-and-forth affair deep into the set as a Wieberg kill evened the score at 16-all. Pepperdine pulled away with a late 9-1 run to seal a 2-0 advantage.
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The third and final set was all Pepperdine from start to finish as the host team never trailed en route to the sweep.
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Pepperdine hit .338 as a team in the match with just 10 attack errors, led by nine kills apiece from Cole Hartke and Ryan Barnett.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to the Eastern time zone for back-to-back matches in the UC Invitational next weekend in Charleston, W. Va. Daemen will face the University of Mount Olive on Friday, Jan. 16 at 4:00 p.m. before playing host University of Charleston on Saturday in a 5:00 p.m. contest from the Wehrle Innovation Center.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
Follow the Daemen men's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenMVB
